Coming up on Home and Away in Australia, Roo returns to the bay after four months away, and she has a few choice words for the woman who nearly killed her dad…
Bree (Juliet Godwin) faces a further hurdle in upcoming episodes, after finally taking responsibility for her actions during Alf’s (Ray Meagher) heart scare.
Having become overly obsessive in her work since the death of Felicity (Jacqui Purvis), Bree froze when Alf’s heart rate skyrocketed as he was brought into the ED following his collapse.
Bree said she was going to check on his bloods and walked out, much to Marilyn’s (Emily Symons) horror, leaving Levi (Tristan Gorey) to step in and administer a lifesaving dose of GTN.
In the weeks that followed, Bree maintained that she had full control of the situation at all times, despite Marilyn’s insistence that that wasn’t the case, to the point where Levi had no choice but to report Bree.
At the tribunal hearing, Bree initially tried to turn the tables back onto Levi, claiming he had barged in and taken over, but was made to see the error of her ways and retracted her statement the following day.
After explaining to the tribunal that she had been stressed, which they apparently accepted, Bree told Remi that she’d subsequently taken leave from the hospital, dodging the possibility of a suspension. As Bree gave a wry smile, Remi was frustrated to realise that she still hadn’t owned her mistake.
Catching Remi looking up possible diagnoses for the obsessive behaviour she’d been exhibiting, Bree accepted that it all sounded very familiar. But she was still reluctant to seek any help, fearing that it would damage her career.
Meanwhile, having gone to stay with wife Martha (Belinda Giblin) in Merimbula—after hearing from Marilyn that Bree’s actions had put his life in danger—Alf returned to Summer Bay last week in a particularly subdued mood.
All of Alf’s friends were quick to notice that something was up, and when Marilyn queried if he was alright, he admitted that he wasn’t sure.
Maz went onto to explain that the hospital has conducted an investigation into what happened, with Alf surprised that Bree had apparently done the wrong thing.
Alf later went to talk to Bree to understand fully what had happened, where Bree admitted that she had failed him in her duty of care and apologised. As Alf asked if she was okay, he was understanding when Bree explained that she was having trouble switching all of her thoughts off.
Bree was thankful for Alf checking in on her, but it did little to improve either of their mental states.
Bree took offence when she realised Remi had asked flatmate Xander (Luke Van Os) to keep an eye on her, but it wasn’t until Levi caught her obsessively cleaning that he helped her realise she needed to take action.
Remi, Xander and Dana (Ally Harris) were all relieved when Bree later told them that she was going to organise a mental health assessment, before getting further help.
Meanwhile, Alf took the drastic action of having his morning cuppa at Salt instead of the diner, commenting to Justin (James Stewart) that he might just want some peace and quiet.
After learning that he’d been particularly snappy with John, even more than usual, Leah called Martha to see if she could shed any light. Martha told her that Alf hadn’t opened up to her either—he barely slept or ate, and didn’t even go fishing during his stay.
After another failed attempt by Marilyn and Leah to cheer Alf up, Marilyn decided it was time to bring in the big guns, and made a call to Alf’s daughter Roo (Georgie Parker), who is currently on a round-the-world cruise with nephew Ryder (Lukas Radovich).
Marilyn told the others that Roo would catch a plane home as soon as the ship reached the next port.
In upcoming episodes, Roo makes her return to Summer Bay after four months away, and having been filled in by Marilyn, she is gunning for Bree.
The last time Bree and Marilyn spoke, Bree was still refusing to admit that she was culpable in endangering Alf’s life, and insulted Marilyn by asking whether her accusation was a medical opinion or whether she’d seen it in her tarot cards. So as far as Marilyn is concerned, nothing has changed.
As TV Week reports, Bree finally receives a diagnosis after taking part in the mental health assessment, and is ready to work towards dealing with it as she returns to Summer Bay after a couple of days away.
But it doesn’t take long before Bree bumps into Roo, who blasts her for nearly killing her dad, and makes it clear that she’s not sure if she can ever forgive her.
“Bree is devastated after her run-in with Roo, but understands why she’s angry,” Juliet tells TV Week. “She knows she dropped the ball with Alf’s treatment.”
Bree realises that it will take a lot of work to regain trust with Alf’s loved ones, but will she be able to stick it out?
“At first, Bree is overwhelmed by everyone’s emotions,” Juliet continues. “However, she’s determined to follow the guidance of her counsellor and focus on healing and trying to make amends as best she can.”
Roo’s return spells the end of a lengthy hiatus for the character, after actress Georgie Parker took a break from filming to star in a theatre production.
After filming her final scenes for Home and Away at the end of January, Georgie went straight into rehearsals for a new David Williamson play The Great Divide at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, which ran from March to April.
Then, in May, Georgie underwent her second hip replacement in the space of six years, a result of living with scoliosis (a curvature of the spine) since she was 13 years old.
“I’m 3 weeks post op,” Georgie explained in an Instagram post at the beginning of June. “Recovery is going well and I’ve had the most brilliant support from my family, my work place and my incredible friends. Practicing patience now while I heal…… so I can get back to work baby.”